#ausntmc5contestantcommentary

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Averages for AusNTM C5

1. Clare (2.8)

2. Tahnee (3)

3. Cassi (3.8)

4. Madison (4)

5. Adele (4.2)

6. Eloise (5.5)

7. Lola (6.14)

8. Laura M (6.17)

9. Franky (6.25) :(

10. Mikarla (9.25)

11. Georgie (10)

12. Laura T (11)

13. Leah (12)

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Tahnee Atkinson

Place: Winner

Average: 3

Anyone in the top 4 on this cycle could’ve won and I wouldn’t complain in the slightest. This was one of my favorite cycles to rank due to my familiarity to it alongside my love for the top 2 we have, in show and post show. Tahnee was one of my favorite winners at the time and still is to this day, even if I’ve grown to love other girls more. I will make the argument that she was an underrated winner at the time due to the bias for Cassi’s look and the fatshaming she received from 15 to 30 year old gay men who thought they had a better fashion sense than the fucking fashion professionals judging the girls (check post I made about the blog I found). Tahnee had one of the most stunning looks in a cycle full of stunning girls. Her angled bone structure she had alongside her unique and bright features were a highlight whenever she was camera and in terms of performance, she delivered on that. Tahnee was also one of the more curvier girls of the bunch so it was nice to see the judges not have a huge fit over if she could or couldn’t fit in the clothes (a sad reminder of C7). She did struggle for a bit during the beginning, she started off well with her editorial swimwear shot but went to the bottom with her worst shot, her Trapeze. However, she bounced right back with her stunning beauty shot, which proved that she was able to model her face to perfection when given the chance. However, her U by Kotex shot was really underwhelming considering how strong her performance was that week (her runway walk etc). However, after that, she seemed to finally get her shit together and became a strong frontrunner by the end of the competition. Her desert shot was just stellar, I adored her Chantel despite her struggles on set, she brought a fun energy to the worst photoshoot of the cycle (Breast Cancer) and her Fords is quite underrated by a lot of people in my personal (crappy) opinion. Ignoring her Tourist shot (which everyone failed at), Tahnee excelled at the ocean shot, both group and solo wise. She also had one of the best walks of the competition, it was so sultry and smooth to watch, it was great to see her be able to walk for Alex Perry during the challenge and get a lot of praise for it. I will say that Adele/Franky/Clare did do a lot better than Tahnee but she was still a standout during her booked shows and her Alex Perry challenge runway. Tahnee did suffer from “same-face” syndrome though. Even if she was a huge frontrunner by the end of the competition, the same emotional pained face that she would make could be an issue for a lot of people. To me, if you’re able to make the same face work, then that’s a-ok by me and Tahnee clearly knew how to angle her face so the same-face issue wasn’t as infuriating to me unlike some people. She also suffered from not being as high fashioned as the others. Yeah, she was able to do it but it never came naturally to her, she was always a cute commercial girl who could model for high fashion. Again, with Gemma, there’s nothing wrong with being commercial, you can still get the bank either way. Tahnee is a very underrated winner in my opinion. While she was one of the more weaker out of the strong final 4, with the power of hindsight, she was the correct choice to win. Clare didn’t seem to really want it and Cassi’s attitude/unwillingness to leave her boyfriend would’ve been a bad choice on their pair. So, with Tahnee’s youth and desire to win, it made sense that she was chosen by the judges to win. She’s one of the few winners still working to this day and majorly successful while doing so. Like Gemma, she’s still doing commercial look to this day (funny how my 2 favorite winners both are commercial as fuck, love to see it). Girl really grew into her look and I was so glad to see her prove her haters wrong and now the same fatophobic assholes from years ago can chew on their words (“she’ll only pose in one newspaper” my ass). She was my choice for winner back then and she may not be anymore but she still holds a nice place in my heart. 

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Cassi Van Den Dungen

Place: Runner Up

Average: 3.8

Cassi seems to get a lot of fanfare due to her amazing post work success and high fashion look. If you ignore the personality (when we get to that) her look was just out of this world. She had a very unique youthful look despite her smoking habits but had issues with her fast metabolism (and would struggle with that post show as well, which I will get to). On the show, she had the complete opposite run to Tahnee where she was a star for the first half before dipping into my bottom spots for the rest before making one of the best shots of the cycle. It was great to see the bogan girl with a shitty attitude model her ass off on set even with no experience because it was amazing to see what she could do. Her first 5 shots (excluding her U by Kotex, which was a disaster) were all stellar. I adored her swimwear, her performance on Trapeze hit the nail right on the money and despite a disappointing photo, Cassi still killed it at the Natural Beauty set and deserved a much better shot chosen for her. Not to mention that her desert is one of the best of the cycle in one of the best photoshoots of the entire series. After her excellent first half though, she seemed to trip on something because after that, she started creating some terrible photos. I will say that she may have been sabotaged in some of these photoshoots with her Tourist set showing that she had a much better performance on set than the photo shown and her Ford having some better shots on frame, however, with the chosen shots given, she became one of the more weaker girls of the group. Her Chantel and Beast Cancer Awareness were very mediocre with her Ford being the worst of the group. She was able to redeem herself with her masterful Ocean shots though so she was able to stabilize in the right time. As a model, I won’t deny her talent, she was clearly a natural born model but as a personality and person (as shown on the show), she came off as immature and rude. Her attitude to a lot of the girls couldn’t be seen as acceptable now and it was tiresome to see Cassi complain and threatening to quit before deciding to stay. Also, the “iconic” moment (?) where she threaten to punch Clare in the shower and calling Eloise and Tahnee fat after they put a bunch of Cassi’s and Mikarla’s cigarette butts into a Mcdonald’s bag on her bed (I don’t even know). I will blame her young age and her upbringing rather than Cassi herself but it got hard to watch when all the girls especially ganged up on Cassi by the end of the competition. Besides her terrible attitude and anger issues (which she was clear and unable to hold back in professional settings like the commercial week), she was one of the worst walkers in the group. She did improve with time but her iconicly saying fuck at the end of the runway in the beginning was funny yet cringeworthy to see. She just flared her limbs all randomly with no direction and walked like she had a limp. Luckily, she did improve by the end and considering how strong she is on runway nowadays, it’s great to see her improve the most out of the cast. I feel like Cassi had it in it to win it, however her lack of desire during the show alongside her crappy attitude turned off the judges and myself included. I wish she just went with the contacts given to her after the show instead of going back with her lowlife boyfriend since I truly feel like she could be more successful than she actually could’ve been. Not to mention how Alex Perry basically shamed her off of runway due to hiring her despite her very unhealthy frame and blaming it all on her even though she had trouble gaining weight. Fucked up in every sense of the word. Cassi is a misunderstood soul by many but clearly young and naive at the time, she’s grown up and has continued to model to this day despite Alex Perry shaming her off and going back to her town instead of traveling the world. I wish she made it international, but who knows?

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Clare Venema

Place: 3rd Place

Average: 2.8

Clare is the obvious robbed one out of the group of girls for me and if I wasn’t a biased piece of shit, Clare would be the obvious winner here for me. She just had it all from the beginning. Her unique pale yet elf-like look made her stand out among the cast of already beautiful girls and she clearly shown from the first episode alone that she had a lot of experience. The experience showed in the photo quality as well! She always was consistently good that it was hard to settle on what her worst photo could be. Even if she only got 1 FCO out of me, she constantly landed in my top 2-3 with her lowest placement being a 5 from me. Her first 2 shots were decent but not her best obviously, even if compared to the shots below her, it’s a masterpiece. However, by week 3, she found her footing and made some damn amazing shots! Her beauty shot was just masterful and despite the flaws, I still find her U by Kotex shot perfect for commercial appeal. Her desert shot is one of the best of the cycle and her Chantel was so high fashion! She did all back down with her boring Breast Cancer shot but bounced back really well with 3 well done photos, one of them getting a FCO out of me! She was just the best overall in photography in my opinion, getting the highest average overall with a 2.8. Her walk was also great! It was smooth yet confident and even if it was barely shown, she rocked the runway challenges and was robbed of a few wins for it! Her commercial appeal was always there since she naturally looked like a commercial girl yet can be high fashion at once due to her unique look. I also really loved her personality and alongside Lola, was my personal favorite of the group! Clare was just so snappy and snarky. She spoke her mind, made some really nice one-liners, and was overall a highlight by the end when she impressed every go-see agent and excelled in everything given to her. It’s a shame that she was backed out of her well deserved final spot but this is the one time where I’ll say that it should’ve been a 3-man finale. This was one of the strongest top 3s in any show I’ve watched, with Clare being the best out of the entire group. It’s a shame that she didn’t seem to have the drive for it shown by her lack of post work but I think if she was pushed to the finale, then she could be as successful as Tahnee and Cassi. Clare is by far one of the most robbed girls of the cycle, even with the power of hindsight!

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Adele Thiel

Place: 4th Place

Average: 4.2

Anyone in the top 4 of this cycle could’ve won and I wouldn’t have batted an eye over it, all 4 were equally strong in their own category! Adele did have the disadvantage like Tahnee of having quite a weak start compared to Cassi and Clare. Her swimwear was underrated by the judges but not great by any means and while her Trapeze and Beauty shot weren’t bad at all, they were unmemorable compared to the rest of the shots above her. However, something inside of her seemed to snap because from week 4-6, she just started slaying out of nowhere. Her U by Kotex shot was one of the few shots that fit the brief perfectly that week and her desert was simple but chic. Finally, she seemed to peak with one of her best shots, her Chantel shot, which is one of the best shots in AusNTM history! However, after that, she went back to her week 1-3 status from being fine but boring. Her Breast Cancer was unmemorable and her next 2 shots, Ford and Tourist were fine but had a lot of flaws that put them down to the bottom for me. It’s a shame that Adele was so crazy when it came to photos because everywhere else she was a star in! Her runway was one of the best of the cycle alongside Franky and Clare. She had a great confidence in it and she didn’t over-exaggerated yet had her own spin to it. Her commercial potential was also bubbling with excellence! She was naturally a high fashion girl at heart (like Cassi) but she could tap into that world well enough that she was flexible at both of said categories. Her personality was a breath of fresh air and her overall look could work perfectly with any vogue covers or commercial briefs. Adele really embraced her role as a dark horse throughout the competition. I wish Adele kept up her midrun performances because she really ate and left no crumbs behind to all the other weaker girls left in the competition but she left at the right time, with her lower performance during the last 4 weeks compared to the other girls who were rapidly improving or slowly regaining momentum. She still made one of my favorite shots and overall added to my favorite final 4 in any cycle!

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Francesca "Franky" Okpara

Place: 5th Place

Average: 6.25

I made it clear beforehand but I actually loved Franky, even if my average said otherwise. She was a great drama maker and was more likable and mature about herself unlike Cassi, who I just felt bad for most of the times. Her makeover was a crime due to how it was often styled because to how straight and stiff they made it look. If they kept it short and curly, then I would have no issues with it. However, she still worked her makeover as well as she could. Her performance on the show in terms of photos were quite all over the place. Her first shot was a mess and I do somewhat agree with the judges that she got lucky with the immunity she got from winning the runway challenge. However, I really liked her next 2 shots! Her Trapeze had her more confidence and hard while her angelic Natural Beauty was a good departure from her usual look because we got to see how soft she could be. Ignoring her awful U by Kotex shot, which I never got the love for by the judges and the fans, her desert shot was fucking killer and her best shot alongside one of the best shot of the cycle! However, after that, she just took a downhill turn and never seemed to recover from it. Her Chantel and Breast Cancer was just straight up boring yet flawed at once and although I have grown to like her Icon shot, her elimination was justified. She did had a bad attitude when it came to the more wacky and weird challenges but her runway walk, alongside Adele, was the best of the cycle! She was smooth and confident with it alongside her own swag with it. Franky left at the right time, even if she was on freefall at that. This is also one of the few times where my average doesn’t really reflect on my thoughts on someone as a model, even if her average is quite low compared to some other girls (look at Micheal from PNTM C5), she’s still in my top 5. She was one of my favorites of the cycle due to her great personality and amazing potential even if it never really showed.

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Lauren "Lola" Van Vorst

Place: 6th Place

Average: 6.14

Lola is another one of my favorite personalities of the cycle. Her snarky and done-with-it attitude was great to watch and she made for an amazing narrator for a cycle that had a lot to remember from. Her naturally squared face and killer cheekbones should’ve sett her up for some success in the show! She, like Tahnee, had a more athletic body as well so she was all set up to succeed with no room for fail, hopefully. However, as a model, Lola kinda had the complete opposite to Franky’s journey where she started off pretty well in the first week before sucking until the desert shot and improving afterwards. Her photo quality was all over the place and if it wasn’t for her upward road to success, she would have one of the worst averages of the group. Her swimwear shot was actually quite gorgeous but the rest of her shots in the first half were just straight up terrible. Her Trapeze was a scared mess, her Beauty shot was a massive disappointment, and despite the improvements on her U by Kotex shot, it was still one of the worst of the week. However, after that, something in her seemed to snap and started making some decent photos. Her desert may have been in my bottom 3 but it was still one of the best of the week. Alongside that, her Chantel and Breast Cancer was genuinely stunning. However, besides photos, she was kinda a wreck everywhere else. She did well during commercials but her runway walk was a mess, she was way too timid and unsure of herself. Lola left at the right time, hell I would argue that she deserved to be eliminated much sooner if it wasn’t for her improvement. She was one of the weakest left over but was still a great narrator for the cycle.

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Laura Mitchell

Place: 7th Place

Average: 6.17

Laura M, like a lot of people, was one of my early favorites of the cycle. She had a swimmer-like body with amazing legs and I was happy to see some diversity to the cycle by having an asian model in AusNTM (and I believe the only one we ever had, correct me if I’m wrong). She was the dentition of the middle-of-the-road model for me though. Despite her getting a FCO out of me for a frankly stunning shot, most of her shots were very boring. The only other shot from her I really like still would be her U by Kotex shot, which I probably should’ve have ranked in my top 4 over Clare now (I’ll change that later) but I can’t let my bad taste get in the way. Most of her shots were just so boring, none of them were bad by any means, most had some good qualities to them for fuck sake. However, they were so unmemorable that it’s hard to list anything I hated or loved about it ignoring her FCO. She had a very forgettable walk as well, which is a shame since her body was perfect for runway. Laura M may have had some high moments and I’m willing to defend her spot in the top 7, however, she was one of the weakest left at that point and she got lucky with much weaker models below her. I wanted Laura M to do well but she disappointed me majorly throughout.